Breaking news
NASCAR Cup
Busch explains what NASCAR's Next Gen car needs to improve
Kurt Busch has pinpointed the exhaust system of the Next Gen NASCAR car currently undergoing testing as an area that needs development through its “venting and cooling”.
Jake Nichol
Edited: Feb 8, 2021, 9:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, has been one of a number of drivers to test the Gen-7 car that was slated for introduction into competition this year, before being delayed by a year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Chip Ganassi driver Busch and Martin Truex Jr, the 2017 title winner, undertook testing at Charlotte in November last year on both the oval and 'roval' layouts. Busch praised the new machine's responsiveness in acceleration and direction change on the road course, but was left with concerns when running on the 1.5-mile oval.
Busch highlighted problems with the steering load generated on the oval, describing the issue as an “eyes wide open moment for NASCAR and the teams” – before describing how the new twin-exhaust system on the car is a problem he noticed in his stints at the wheel.
“The next biggest bullet point that I marked down was the exhaust heat,” said Busch, who is set to start his 21st consecutive full-time season in this month's Daytona 500. “It's now a split exhaust system, so it comes out of the left, and the right, which means the exhaust goes right underneath the driver on the left side. We need better insulation, more venting and a cooler situation [in the car].
“I have only driven the car in November and in January, and I would say it was already on the hot side of what it felt like after a 25-lap run. I am sure we can get that fixed and have more venting and airflow within the car.”
Read Also:
- NASCAR "future-proofing" its Next Gen car to enable hybrid
- NASCAR's Next Gen car hits speed targets at Daytona test
Kurt Busch, Chip Ganassi Racing
Photo by: NASCAR Media
Busch also alluded to other new technology on the Gen-7 car, in particular the braking package and the independent rear suspension system.
“There are so other many good qualities in the car, with the brakes, the sequential gearbox, suspension, and all kinds of different aero components that I know they can bolt on or take off to make the car adapt to all the different style tracks,” he added. “[Definitely] lots of positives all the way around, and another full year of development will make a great introductory piece for 2022.”
Chris Buescher, who has also completed testing in the new car, echoed Busch's thoughts on the braking system, albeit with less time in the car, and highlighted the impact it could have on the new road courses Cup will race at in 2021, including Austin and Road America.
“It seemed to be very consistent across everybody that has driven that car,” said the Roush Fenway Racing driver. “It needs some fine-tuning to get a better feel to it to make it more like what we have now – not that we are trying to duplicate what we have, and we realize what we are running [currently] is old technology, but it still needs to have a similar feel, or something along the same lines and I think everybody has felt like it needs work.”
Chris Buescher drives the NASCAR Next gen car
Photo by: NASCAR Media
“The big wheels mean a bigger brake package which I think will probably be more significant than anything else,” he added. “We will allow ourselves to have a much better brake package and much better cooling so that we can run hard for a longer period of time.
“Our races are long and in terms of road racing, for the most part, we have to pace ourselves in a load of these races. I haven't run enough laps to talk intelligently on this, but I feel like we will be able to push harder from the drop of the green flag all the way to the checkered flag on a lot of these road races.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Harvick: Drivers will need to be "extraordinary" road racers
Next article Larson "extremely grateful" for second chance in NASCAR
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jake Nichol
Why former Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope is still racing at 62
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Daytona 500
Why former Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope is still racing at 62
NASCAR boss Phelps: Hybrid power needed to lure new manufacturer
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR boss Phelps: Hybrid power needed to lure new manufacturer
Hamlin on balancing his role as a driver and new team owner
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Hamlin on balancing his role as a driver and new team owner
Latest news
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
30 min
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 56 min
Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
1 h
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Into the unknown: What to expect from WEC's Barcelona debut
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
2 h
Into the unknown: What to expect from WEC's Barcelona debut
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe